Group Messaging / MMS question

[Camilo]

Just to repeat my background from previous posts, I'm a smartphone newby, using a Moto X. Never had a smart phone of any sort before, although I've been sending texts to groups for years, and also have been sending photos to individuals and groups for years using my dumb phone.

I see a setting in the Moto X's messaging app that reads: "Use MMS to send a single message when there are multiple recipients."

What does this mean? And don't be afraid to answer like you're speaking to a child.

Currently, it is not enabled. I sort of, think I know the difference between SMS and MMS, but I guess I don't understand why it would be asking if I want this particular setting and how it would actually play out in what I see on my phone.

Last weekend I took a small video clip and sent it to several (maybe 5) people. I'm not certain all of them received it, but think they did because it showed sent and two replied and complemented me on the video (not really, but they did reply). Their replies came as separate threads (under their own names), not as a direct reply to the group message.

If you answer with a pointer to a basic, everyone should know it sort of source, I won't be offended! Thanks.

 

[mm356]

If the "Use MMS to send a single message when there are multiple recipients." is checked, then any messages you send to multiple people will be sent as a "group" MMS, meaning when they reply (unless they have this selected on their end) they will be replying to all within a single conversation.

If you uncheck this, then your message will still go to everyone, but it will be sent as multiple individual SMS messages to each person in turn. And when they reply back they will be replying back to you only, not to the group as a whole.

The difference here - aside from group replies that you may or may not want - is that the MMS requires a mobile data connection to send/receive (not just WiFi), whereas an SMS is sent over the regular CDMA signal. So you can turn WiFi and mobile data off and still send/receive SMS messages, but without mobile data you cannot send or receive MMS messages.

During the work day I like to turn both WiFi and mobile data off to conserve battery while still being able to receive calls and SMS texts, so I typically leave this unchecked. The only problem there is that in order to receive a MMS from somebody else I'll have to turn data on to get it (and in my case reboot my whole freakin' phone, but that's another problem for another day)

 

[Camilo]

Thanks for the great primer mm356. That totally makes sense in what I saw for replies when I sent that group message last weekend. The replies I received appear from the individuals, not within the group conversation/thread. That probably also explains why my friend who doesn't have a data plan or wifi-capable phone received the message.

I wonder (I guess maybe know why now) - when I had my flip phone/no data/no wifi - every once in a while I'd get an email from a smartphone user (I always assumed it was an IPhone, btw, but don't know for sure), the message would be blank. Also, some of those messages from those sources would be text, but would need scrolling to read - but would not scroll on my phone so I could only see one screen of it, in spite of a "play" button on the message. I don't know if that makes sense, it's the best I can do to describe it from memory. Anyway, with those type of text messages - that almost appeared to be a graphics file - I could only read them fully if I went to my flip phone's menu and went through the "view contents" procedure, and viewed the portion of the message which was a text file - then the contents of the message would show as a complete text message.

Interesting stuff I wonder if I really want to know about! But I think I'll just send as SMS until something occurs which absolutely requires MMS, as a courtesy to acknowledge that not everyone has mobile data connection.